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Russia launched a series of airstrikes on Thursday against Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, as well as other key Ukrainian cities, killing at least two people and injuring 18 others. The attacks, which officials say damaged infrastructure nationwide, rattled residents and drew immediate condemnation.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions in the vicinity of Kiev following an air raid warning. Authorities quickly mobilized rescue teams to assess the damage and tend to the injured in several locations within the capital.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that the morning's unrest didn't limit itself to Kiev. "It is a restless morning. Explosions were heard in different regions of Ukraine,” Klymenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The attacks spread injuries across Kyiv and Cherkasy regions, as well as in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Devastation and Resilience
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko revealed that of the seven people injured in the capital, one was a nine-year-old girl.
Debris from the projectiles rained down on the city center, sparking fires and causing damage to infrastructure and several non-residential buildings. “Fragments of the projectile fell in the center of the city, and infrastructure facilities and several non-residential buildings were damaged, which caused a fire," Klitschko said.
Further reports from central Ukraine indicated additional damage. According to Klymenko, a hotel and several kiosks in Cherkasy were damaged, resulting in injuries to seven individuals. Emergency services published a video on Telegram that depicted rescuers evacuating an injured man on a stretcher while fires blazed in the background.
Wider Regional Impact
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and regional officials confirmed that the airstrikes were not localized but rather part of a broader assault affecting various Ukrainian territories. Explosions were reported in Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
Maksim Kozicky, the governor of Lviv, stated that three Russian rockets hit the western town of Drohobich, located about 60 kilometers from the Polish border. According to Kozicky, an infrastructure facility and warehouses were targeted and hit in the attack.
In a separate incident, two people were killed in the southern city of Kherson due to Russian shelling, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.